(LEAD) (Asiad) S. Korea reach men's football final

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(ATTN: ADDS comments throughout) By Yoo Jee-ho

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea rallied past China 2-1 to move on to the gold medal in men's football at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday.

Lee Young-jun and Bae Jun-ho scored a goal apiece for the under-23 men's national team in the semifinals at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, some 140 kilometers west of the main host city Nagoya, as South Korea moved within a victory of winning their fourth straight gold medal.

South Korean players celebrate their 2-1 win over China in the men's football semifinal match at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan, on Sept. 30, 2026. (Yonhap)

In Saturday's gold medal match, South Korea will face either Japan or Uzbekistan, with those two teams set to play in the semifinals, also in Osaka, later Wednesday.

The final will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Toyota Stadium in Toyota, some 50 kilometers east of Nagoya.

Wang Yudong scored first for China in the 22nd minute after fending off several South Korean set-piece opportunities. As Mao Weijie floated a pass toward the box from the middle of the field, Wang sprinted behind the napping South Korean defense and let the ball bounce off his chest before scoring off his left foot.

Lee pulled South Korea even with a header goal in the 33rd minute, set up by Eom Ji-sung's corner.

Lee, who joined the national team a few days after his teammates due to his commitment with his Swiss club Grasshopper, has now scored three goals in the past two matches.

"Physically, I am trying to get better," Lee said. "But the fact that I am scoring goals means I am in pretty good form right now.

"I am 100 percent confident we will win the gold medal. This is not the time to say anything negative," Lee continued. "Our goal is clear. We will go into the match thinking there is not a chance we will lose that one. And it doesn't matter whether I score or not as long as we win."

Bae Jun-ho of South Korea celebrates after scoring against China during the teams' semifinal match in men's football at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan, on Sept. 30, 2026. (Yonhap)

South Korea struggled against physical Chinese defense for most of the match and dodged a bullet when defender Kim Ji-soo nearly headed a Chinese cross into his own goal in the 79th minute.

Then in the 82nd minute, Bae netted the go-ahead marker for South Korea, with Eom once again being the setup man. Eom sent a well-placed cross from outside the left edge of the box, and Bae redirected it with his head for the 2-1 lead that South Korea did not relinquish.

"I had not been happy with the way I had been playing, and I am glad I finally scored one," Bae said, after being held off the board in the previous three matches. "This is one of the happiest moments of my life. Now we have one more match to go. Even if I don't get to score one myself, I will try to create space for my teammates to get it done."

South Korea head coach Lee Min-sung gave kudos to his players for battling back after conceding the first goal.

"I expected a difficult match, and our players persevered," Lee said at his postmatch press conference. "I am satisfied with the way they overcame the early deficit. We have one more match to play, and we will try to recover and be ready for the match."

Lee said there was a breakdown between midfielders and center backs on the lone Chinese goal and added, "Something like that can happen in a match, and our job is to make sure we don't repeat the same mistake."

Lee's team remained shorthanded, with Celtic winger Yang Hyun-jun out with a hamstring injury and captain Lee Gi-hyuk sidelined with a foot injury.

Coach Lee said he was not sure if either player will be available for Saturday's final.

"No matter how important a competition is, our priority is to protect players if they are not 100 percent healthy," he added. "We are borrowing these players from their clubs for the national team, and we have to return them in good health."

Lee Young-jun of South Korea (L) scores against China during the teams' semifinal match in men's football at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan, on Sept. 30, 2026. (Yonhap)

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(LEAD) (Asiad) S. Korea reach men's football final

这将使谷歌能够向您展示与您的搜索匹配或相关的韩联社新闻文章。

（注：全文添加注释）作者：柳智浩

日本名古屋，9月30日（韩联社）——周三，韩国队在爱知-名古屋亚运会男子足球比赛中以2比1逆转战胜中国队，夺得金牌。

在大阪长居体育场举行的半决赛中，李英俊和裴俊浩各为韩国U23男足国家队攻入一球。大阪长居体育场位于主赛事举办城市名古屋以西约140公里处。韩国距离连续第四次获得金牌仅差一场胜利。

2026年9月30日，在日本大阪长居体育场举行的爱知-名古屋亚运会男足半决赛中，韩国队以2比1战胜中国队后庆祝胜利。（韩联社）

周六的金牌争夺战中，韩国将迎战日本或乌兹别克斯坦，这两支队伍将于周三晚些时候在大阪进行半决赛。

决赛将于周六晚上 7:30 在丰田市丰田体育场举行，该体育场位于名古屋以东约 50 公里处。

第22分钟，王宇东为中国队首开纪录。此前，他化解了韩国队多次定位球机会。毛维杰从中场将球吊向禁区，王宇东迅速插上，甩开韩国队防守队员的注意力，胸部停球后左脚破门。

第 33 分钟，李宗伟头球破门，帮助韩国队扳平比分，进球来自严智星开出的角球。

由于要代表瑞士草蜢俱乐部出战，李在队友们之后几天才加入国家队，但他在最近两场比赛中已经攻入三球。

“我的身体状况正在努力提升，”李说。“但我能进球的事实表明，我现在的状态相当不错。”

“我百分之百有信心我们会赢得金牌。现在不是说任何消极话的时候，”李继续说道。“我们的目标很明确。我们会抱着必胜的信念去参加比赛。只要我们赢球，我是否进球都无关紧要。”

2026年9月30日，在日本大阪长居体育场举行的爱知-名古屋亚运会男足半决赛中，韩国球员裴俊浩在攻破中国队球门后庆祝。（韩联社）

韩国队在比赛的大部分时间里都难以抵挡中国队强悍的防守，并在第 79 分钟险些被中国队后卫金智秀头球顶入自家球门。

比赛进行到第82分钟，裴勇俊为韩国队打入制胜球，助攻者依然是严宇。严宇在禁区左侧边缘送出一记精准的传中，裴勇俊头球破门，将比分改写为2-1，韩国队最终保持领先优势直至终场。

“我对自己的表现一直不太满意，很高兴终于进球了，”裴俊浩说道，此前他连续三场比赛颗粒无收。“这是我人生中最快乐的时刻之一。现在还剩最后一场比赛。即使我自己进不了球，我也会努力为队友创造得分机会。”

韩国队主教练李珉成称赞队员们在先失一球后奋起反击。

李在赛后新闻发布会上说：“我预料到这将是一场艰苦的比赛，但我们的球员坚持了下来。我对他们克服开局劣势的方式感到满意。我们还有一场比赛要打，我们会努力调整状态，为下一场比赛做好准备。”

李表示，中国队唯一进球是由于中场和中后卫之间的防守出现漏洞，他还补充道：“比赛中可能会发生这样的事情，我们的工作就是确保不再犯同样的错误。”

李的球队仍然人手不足，凯尔特人边锋杨贤俊因腿筋受伤缺阵，队长李基赫因脚伤无法上场。

李教练表示，他还不确定这两名球员能否参加周六的决赛。

“无论比赛多么重要，我们的首要任务是保护球员的健康，尤其是在他们身体状况并非百分之百的情况下，”他补充道。“我们是从俱乐部借调这些球员到国家队，所以我们必须确保他们健康归还。”

2026年9月30日，在日本大阪长居体育场举行的爱知-名古屋亚运会男足半决赛中，韩国球员李英俊（左）攻破中国队球门。（韩联社）

jeeho@yna.co.kr (完)

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